Widnes Wild Academy U19 D1 faced a tough challenge away against a strong Solihull Junior Barons U19D1 side, with the final score 3-8. Plenty of learning opportunities from this one. After a challenging 1-2 first period, the team showed resilience and never stopped working, gaining valuable match experience.
The goals were shared around with Lewis Speare, Jared Knowles and Luke Alston all getting on the scoresheet, demonstrating great teamwork in the final third.
Jared Knowles and Luke Alston provided the assists, linking up well with the forwards.
The team will take the positives from this performance and come back stronger in their next outing.
| Player | GP | G | A | P | P/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aidan Lamb#11DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 17 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 1.41 |
| Luke Alston#27 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 1.62 |
| Jared Knowles#19DIV · U19 NATIONAL | 12 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 1.58 |
| Porter Harrop#75DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 0.75 |
| Austin Busby#15DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 0.69 |
| Alfie Gilhooley#63DIV · U19 NATIONAL | 16 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0.56 |
| Reece Obrien#23DIV · U19 NATIONAL | 17 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0.53 |
| Cian Shorrock#98DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0.62 |
Widnes Wild Academy U19 D1 are struggling for form, managing just 3 points from their last 6 games (17% of available points). Their 1-0-5 (W-D-L) record shows difficulties picking up results, with 5 defeats outweighing the 1 wins.
Concern mounts as the team is on a 4-game losing streak. Finding a way to stop the rot and get back to winning ways is the immediate priority. However, there are signs of a dip with fewer points earned recently compared to earlier matches. Halting this decline before it becomes a pattern is important.
Offensively, the team is potent with 23 goals scored (3.8 per game). This healthy output suggests the attacking players are finding their rhythm and creating chances consistently. Worryingly, goals have dried up in recent fixtures compared to earlier in this run.
The defense has leaked 32 goals at an alarming 5.3 per game. This vulnerability is putting enormous pressure on the attack to outscore opponents, which isn't sustainable long-term. Concerningly, more goals have been shipped recently, suggesting concentration or fatigue issues. The concerning -9 goal difference underlines the need for improvement at both ends.
Home ice has been a fortress - 1 wins from 2 home games versus just 0 wins from 4 road trips. Making the most of home advantage will be crucial going forward.
Owen Severn holds a 76.5% save percentage with 15.25 GAA. The goaltending has been adequate, though the team may need more consistency from this position.
Most recently, a 3-8 defeat to Solihull Junior Barons U19D1 was a tough lesson to absorb. However, 4 heavy defeats by 3+ goals are concerning and suggest the team can struggle when things go wrong.
Widnes Wild Academy U19 D1 currently sit in 4th place with 29 points from 18 games played. However, current form suggests they may slip 1 place to finish 5th with around 31 points.
A form rating of 35/100 highlights some struggles. Areas of concern include strong attacking output (4.3 goals/game) and defensive vulnerabilities (4 conceded/game). There are signs of a dip in form, with fewer points being picked up in recent games.
Home advantage has been significant, with a 6-3-0 record at home compared to 3-5-2 on the road. This 67% home win rate versus 30% away suggests the remaining home fixtures will be crucial. The remaining schedule looks favourable, with opponents averaging below the league mean. 100% of remaining games are at home, which should help.
The projected finish range of 5th to 5th reflects the uncertainty in any prediction. This narrow range suggests a relatively predictable finish, though close competition means every point will matter.
The outlook requires attention. Issues such as poor current form and 4-game losing streak need to be addressed for results to improve.
| Metric | This Season | Last Season | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | 4 | 7 | +3 |
| Points | 29 | 9 | +20 |
| Wins | 8 | 4 | +4 |
| GF | 90 | 57 | +80 |
| GD | 16 | -64 | +80 |
Widnes have been the form side recently and will look to continue their good run against Bradford, who have found wins harder to come by.
Widnes boast the stronger attack this season, averaging 5.0 goals per game compared to Bradford's 3.0. That firepower could prove decisive if they find their rhythm early.
Defensively, Widnes have been more solid, conceding 4.1 goals per game. Bradford will need to tighten up at the back, having let in 7.4 on average.
Widnes carry momentum into this one with 8 wins from 18 games (44% win rate). Bradford will be hoping to turn their form around.
The league table tells its own story - Widnes sit 4th while Bradford find themselves in 7th. That 3 place gap will add extra motivation for the visitors to make a statement.
Widnes's goal difference of +16 highlights their overall dominance this season.
The stats give Widnes a slight edge, but Bradford certainly have the quality to cause problems. This could easily go down to the final minutes.
| Charlie Scott#88DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1.50 |
| Evan Walker#2UP · U16 NORTH 2DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0.60 |
| Harry Kay#29DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0.40 |
| Toryn Christy#16DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0.40 |
| Alex Reid#36DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0.29 |
| Christopher Given#97UP · U16 NORTH 2DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0.83 |
| Ollie Marfleet#20DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0.42 |
| Robbie Thomson#9 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0.71 |
| William Daley#14 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1.00 |
| George Taylor#70DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.25 |
| Ben Roberts#8UP · U16 NORTH 2DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.21 |
| Charles Shearn#81DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.19 |
| Leo Cooper#23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3.00 |
| Emily Duffy#80UP · U16 NORTH 2DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2.00 |
| Lewis Speare#12DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.50 |
| Cole Mulliner#6DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jack Atkin#31UP · U16 NORTH 2DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Malachy Mitchell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Morgan Busby#17DIV · U19 NORTH 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Oliver Turner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Owen Severn#1LOAN | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Sean Mullin#19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Zac Grimes#88UP · U16 NORTH 1DIV · U19 NORTH 2LOAN | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
